I am a Sturgis virgin...planning on riding from Maryland solo. My wife may fly in to Rapid City for a few days but not sure, anyway I have it narrowed down to the following 3. Any insight on my research or advice would be much appreciated. I want to order my week pass soon before prices rise.


1) Broken Spoke: Nice pool, bar and free concerts. Not sure of the quality of bands they will have. The price is right and I would also rent a picnic shelter (covered concrete slab) that I could park bike under at night. Farther out of Sturgis than the other 2. No shade, but plan on riding all day and then park bike and party.


2) Buffalo Chip: Has pretty much anything you need right there. Pricey but the quality of concerts could be good (Kid Rock and Miranda Lambert have booked for 2016). Bikini beach sounds cool. How crowded does that campground get? Is it a mud pit by mid-week?


3) Glencoe: The Cadillac of partying. Lots of adult fun. Not sure of musical entertainment on the premises. Price is right also.


Note: I will be in a tent so would like to be in a grassy area, not muddy. I like to party, not too hard but I plan on parking the bike at night. Would be nice to have a place on-site that serves breakfast and clean bathrooms/showers. All 3 are on Da Bus route (I think). Thanks in advance

 

I stayed at the Brokenspoke in 2011, The bathrooms and showers were clean. The concerts were ok but not overly crowded. The campground was quite, but like you said, no shade during the day. The drive from Sturgis to the Brokenspoke is not that bad once you get out of the traffic going to the Buffalo chip. A friend pulled a camper so I can't speak for the tent camping there.
I stayed at the Buffalo Chip in 2013. Bathrooms and shower rooms were nasty. In the morning the toilets were full of crap, even had crap piled on the seats themselves. The shower rooms were ok, but I had better showers when I was deployed to the middle east. The concerts had a great line up, but can get really crowded, Kid Rock night was crazy packed. Parting was fun though, stayed in a tent, found a place next to some trees and brush, did block the morning sun. Campground and get a little loud at night, but its nothing to bad, at least for me. Don't think Ill ever stay at the chip again unless they have a concert I really want to see or friends want to stay there.
The most fun I had at Sturgis was in 2014 when we camped in some dudes yard in town. Stayed across from the Easy riders. Free concerts, able to bar hop, fights at the knuckle and didn't have to worry about Da Bus schedule. Bathroom and shower was clean. Didn't really have to fight the crowds so much. Buddy bought a cheap cooler so we were able to have drinks after the bars closed. And I think I was charged 10 bucks a night to pitch the tent.
When I move back to the states and can attend Sturgis again, Ill be camping in someones yard! But then again, I wouldn't mind trying Glencoe either.

 

My last trip in 2014 we stayed at the Ride and Rest. Not far from the Chip, Glencoe, etc. In fact we could hear the concerts from the Chip. This place was clean, reasonably quite at night, reasonably priced. Restrooms were clean and there was never a wait for showers. They served food and beer and the staff is very friendly. Large commons area in the beer garden for relaxing, visiting, etc.

Bill

 

I can't comment MUCH on the Broken Spoke and Glencoe, but I'll try to help.

They do have a nice, cheap price. I've been over there (not into the camping area - just the little outside bar and vendor area), and it was a bar. Not bad.

I have the best time at the Chip. You're correct - it is one-stop camping. There are restaurants, multiple bars, laundry service, wifi, you name it.

They usually have some amazing concerts. Last year was the 75th anniversary of the Rally, and the bands weren't that great (there was speculation that a lot of the bands didn't want to fool around with the logistics in those crowds). Eh, I don't know. One thing to note about the Chip - you can bet that they'll have amazing entertainment. Because of this, the ticket prices increase gradually as the rally gets closer (and as they announce more acts). The key to the Chip is to **** or get off the pot. I got my tickets for $195 - only $20 more than Glencoe. They've annouced two major acts, and tickets for the Extended pass are now $295, so I've saved $100/person. If you wait until May, you'll probably spend $495. Or more.

The Chip has a lot of people, but it's a big place. The area down by the main stage gets crowded as heck in the evenings, but there are a lot of locals (from hundreds of miles around) that come see some of those shows.

The mud isn't bad at all. Year before last, we got a day of torrential rain alllllllllllll day, and half the night. The next morning, there were a couple of spots that were bad, but they were good by the afternoon.

As far as the noise? Well, it can be loud. Not many people go to the Chip to "get a good, restful night of sleep". LOL!! People are gonna be partying at the Chip until the wee hours of the morning. That's one of the reasons that we like it. But, if that turns you off, you might want to seriously consider NOT going there. Seriously.

Oh, and just rent a private porta john for your campsite, and you'll never have to worry about nasty crappers. Mine smells like roses all the time! LOL!!!

 

How much do they charge for those? I can't find a price on their website. Also, do you know anything about the vendor showers? I don't mind "roughing it" on the ground but at my age I need a decent place to shower and crap...lol

 

They charge $250 for the week, and that includes them setting it up for you on a nice campsite that's all blocked off. They put a lock on your private crapper, and only you and the cleaners have a key. Every single morning, they come dump and clean it. It's well worth every single damn penny. You can see the prices on their reservations page.

I do know all about the vendor showers. Worth it. The free shower houses can get a little bit nasty (to say the least). The paid showers are like $7 per day (you get a little wrist band. If you want to shower 5 times that day, so be it). Or, you can pay for the entire week for about $40, and have unlimited showers. They're clean, always hot, and they have free coffee in the mornings. Outside of the showers, they have sinks and mirrors, sockets for girls to plug devices in for whatever they use devices for, etc.

 

We always camp at Glencoe. Lot's of shade and close to the Beaver Bar and the Full Throttle Saloon.

We ride all day and then park the bikes at night and party. Don't have to leave the campground if you don't want because it has everything you need.

See link below for more details on Glencoe.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/natio...beginners.html

 

When we went in 2011, we spent part of the time camping at the Chip. We had heard about the Buffalo Chip and they also had some concerts that we wanted to go to and since it was our first time there, we wanted to jump in and see what it was like there.

 

The last three years I have stayed at Rush-no-more (extremely quiet), (Hog Heaven pretty quiet, but close to town), and Glencoe (my favorite). With the exception of the Trailer Queens, Glencoe has everything that a biker rally is supposed to have. Trailer Queens will be a problem pretty much everywhere you stay in Sturgis. They have pretty much turned the biker rally into a Menstruated RV convention.

 

Stayed at several places and I have to give my vote to ( don't forget that I'm an old man now ) Creekside on the east end of town out where the Throttle use to be. Super clean facilities and great people.

http://www.creeksidesturgis.com/